crazylegsjoe_mfc

I know that transfermarkt can be wildly inaccurate with these kind of things, but supposedly in playing every minute in the league, Blair Spittal has played this number of positions

My take on it is that he is earning more at Hearts than he will be at Motherwell and doesn't want to lose out on that amount for the final months of his contract, so Hearts are picking up that tab for the rest of the season and a loan at first was the best way to get that deal struck. I imagine he will have to miss the game on February 17th. I guess it's almost guaranteed we won't play them again after that though. I'm as #numberpolis as anyone but us constantly playing a back three these days makes it difficult to fill number 11. A left footed midfielder seems an almost sensible use for it.

I think my main concern surrounding it is that we use the money we had planned for, say a right wing-back and a striker, just on KVV.

If I'm honest, I hadn't really considered the lift effect. I guess even in some weird kinda way Ross McCormack signing gave us a lift. In terms of his actual output as a player.... if this drags out until the end of the month, where he have a reportedly unfit player, who's being training with the reserves, who last started a game on October 20th, how quickly does he get up to speed? Of course, it could go the other way, and being back near his new family, in front of fans that love him, might gee him up. I don't mean to piss on anyone's chips for whatever little reason for optimism we have at this very moment, but I'm just concerned that he might not be the signing we thought he was going to be.

I'd go for McGinn at wing-back and keep SOD where he is. The last game they were either side of Mugabi right enough and Butcher is the only defensive player back since then.

I think in some ways that makes it more likely to happen I think whatever the lineup is, it will be have a back three and at least one player playing in a position they're not fully comfortable or utilised in.

I make it 13 from 25 league goals this season, have been scored or assisted by someone who won't play for us again. That makes the window hard to navigate. On Saturday in essence we are picking from 12 players: Kelly, O'Donnell, Gent, Montgomery, McGinn, Mugabi, Butcher, Davor, Paton, Spittal, Obika, Bair. I honestly looked at it and thought the most natural shape was O'Donnell at wing back, with Butcher in midfield, but trying to read Ketts, I'm predicting O'Donnell inside one, Spittal at wing back and Butcher in midfield.

I actually really like that. Change the badge to a Motherwell one and I'd be all over that* *When it's in the sale for £20

I've just written similar in a WhatsApp chat with 'Well fans. We are by far the biggest team not to be relegated in my lifetime, when the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Dundee, Dundee United, Kilmarnock etc have had multiple visits to the lower league, I get that. However, the number of times we hit halfway point in a season and are having the "we're doomed and going down" chat, compared to the number of times we've been relegated, or even in danger come the end of the season, is signficantly different. This year I won't deny that our budget and our squad make it one of the more grim occurences of the chat, but I also don't think we've had the chat whilst eight points clear from the bottom. In essence, Livingston need to win three games that we lose, as well as equaling our points tally in the rest of the games. Livingston have won twice in 21 games, I really don't see 3 in the next 17 games coming easily. Also add in the fact that Livingston have an even lower budget than us, if it was Kilmarnock, or Ross County sitting in their position, you'd be wary of them chucking money at in January to survive - but we know Livi won't be able to do that. With that in mind, 11th is probably the lowest we could finish, which don't get me wrong is a distinct possibility. At that point, we would still be playing a team who would be playing another four or six games on to the end of their season, who would have to beat us over two legs. We're all looking at our team at the moment through a lens of being without Slattery, Biereth and Spencer from our regular XI from the start of the season. I'm not suggesting we will be able to replace the quality of those three, but come the end of the window, or I reckon even by next Saturday, we will have some form of reinforcements available. It won't be that long until Casey (hopefully in better form) and Miller are back available to us too. Where my immediate concern lies is for Saturday. I think back to our recent shocks - against Albion Rovers we fielded a team devoid of creativity and against Sligo we had Mugabi at centre half against a team who were happy for us to have the ball. On Saturday, we will have both. I look at the players available to us this weekend and do see a potential banana skin in there. Especially when the likelihood is that our bench will have McGinley, Maguire and several 17 year olds in it. My concern is that say we do go out and Kettlewell has "lower league cup shock" to add as a blot to his copybook already featuring "1 win in 15 games", that things will get particularly toxic in the stands. I don't think Ketts ever foresaw going in to Saturday's game knowing that Slattery and Mika were finished with us for the season. Regardless of result on Saturday, we really need to get behind him afterwards. If we've not sacked him until this point, for everyone's sake it is crucial that we back him in the final ten days of the transfer window. It would be too short-sighted otherwise. I don't think I'll be attending many enjoyable football matches between now and the end of the season, but I do still think the odds are ever so slightly in our favour to stay up. Which if your primary concern is us being a Premiership side next season, then that's good, but if you have aspirations of being entertained on a Saturday afternoon, it's not so good.

I know that picture is a good reference to joke about, but that window we signed Stephen Pearson and Marvin Johnson, as well as signing Scott McDonald shortly after the window had closed. What I'd give for three players of that ilk to sign for us now.

I had talked myself in to Main and Mika being a decent partnership up top for us. Quite the blow to find out we'll now have neither

I always question Robinson's priorities the summer that he brought him back on loan. We signed Hastie, White, Lang and Cole, renewed Watt and Long's contract, with Seedorf already cutting about, whilst relying on McGinley and Lamie to make up part of our first choice defence and starting the season with Turnbull on the left of a front three.

I wish it wasn't the case, but I think we are. In that in this day and age we are a marked step down from Hearts, as well as the sad fact that it won't take that much to improve our squad.

I guess we've all got assumptions about what could've or would've happened with Hastie. If you find yourself ending one season with 2 goals in 31 games for Airdrie in league one and the next season you have a four year contract on several grand a week in front of you, where you don't even need to move house, you'd be daft not to take it* There's no doubt to me he was coming back in that January hoping, rather than expecting, to get a new contract with us. I think there's an alternate universe where Elliott Frear doesn't get injured in that cup game against Ross County and the purple patch never comes. *I do still highly doubt I could bring myself to sign for Rangers personally

Oh aye, there is a fair line between a self-confessed Rangers fan and someone who literally signs autographs with "FTP". I think fans get too caught up in their perceived personalities of players. Scott McDonald immediately springs to mind with that. He was an asbolutely instrumental player for us in both spells at the club, but probably isn't revered enough for what he done on the pitch because people thought he spoke too much about Celtic, came across as a moody wee p***k or distanced himself from Helicopter Sunday at any available opportunity.

It always amazes me when I see the averse reaction to us being linked with players that we are aware of, like Halliday. I think sometimes our fans have almost a delusional view on our standing in the football world and at times a borderline arrogance into thinking that someone like Halliday, or Montgomery, or Curtis Main wouldn't be a reasonably good signing for us. Given our attempts to go left field in the past few years have brought us Ojala, Sol, Efford and Danzaki, if we are in the midst of a battle, I think signing players who've proven themselves to be decent in this league is the path we should be taking (at least in the short term). I must admit to having changed my opinion on Halliday since hearing him in the media. I think he actually comes across quite well and appears knowledgable on Scottish football as a whole, rather than just being an Old Firm sychophant as most ex-players are. However, the bottom line is that it doesn't really matter too much whether I like / dislike the perception of a player that I have, as long as they do the business on the park.

For Motherwell: Twardzik Grimshaw Aldred Craigan Hammell Lasley O'Donnell Pearson McFadden Sutton McDonald Twardzik is just about the lesser of two evils with Gunnar Nielsen and McFadden and Pearson's inclusions are based on their first returns. I think I started going just after Fraser Wishart's second spell, so that may give him the opportunity to replace Grimshaw.

He's out of contract at the end of the season, so they wouldn't need permission, which I reckon goes in our favour. If they're not going to get a few for him, then surely they won't be too fussed about where he plays. I guess him training with them in the break might have been them gauging whether it's worth extending his deal or not.

He was my first childhood hero, even if I only caught him in his twilight at Motherwell. I was a devastated 8 year old when we let him go, but the fact he scored 15 for us one season and 0 for you the next probably tells me that in terms of his legacy it was probably the right time to go. In talk of Motherwell, Dundee and returning players, I remember being bemused about us taking David Clarkson on trial at pre season, even taking him to Portugal, before choosing to not sign him. Was it his first 8 games for Dundee he scored in? Including the first goal in a win against us. We then signed him the following summer, after the goals had dried up, rather pointlessly as we signed another four strikers after him and never played him.

I think that summer we signed Kelly, for a small fee, on high wages, with the hope we would sell him and I reckon although the wages are probably a bit lower than Kelly's, it's probably a similar scenario with Slattery. He's got a high ceiling and a low floor for me. Prior to hearing about his injury, I thought the end of this season would have been a natural parting of ways. I'd imagine we put him at the higher end of the payscale on the gamble it would make us a transfer fee and now that hasn't come to fruition, I would question if renewing his contract at the same rank of the payscale that he's on currently would be worth it. As for insurance, I don't think it does if he gets injured on our watch. The only time I've heard of insurance coming in to play was when Saunders got injured for the season whilst on international duty with the under 21s and we were able to bring in Clancy for the season with the money.

I understand where you're coming from. Gent to me seems very direct. There's a couple of runs and crosses that he's put in that's reminded me of an old school winger before they all became "inverted" but for some reason, the way wingers are used these days, for some reason, I can't picture him on the right cutting in. That and Ketts dying on the back three with wing backs hill.

I imagine that it will be Penney or Furlong. I imagine Penney (who's unattached) will be an 18-month deal and that would be one less thing to worry about next summer. I'd say from an immediate perspective, Furlong would be better, but he'd likely be a loan and we'd be looking for a left back again in the summer. I actually think it would be harsh to drop Gent, he's come on to a game for me. However, given we've seen three different right backs and Blair Spittal at left wing back this season and we're dead set on a back three, it definitely makes sense to have two.

I'm in the "think he's better than Shaw / Obika but wouldn't spend limited funds on him" camp. I must say I thought he looked outstanding a few times I saw him for St. Mirren last season, to the point I was thinking what great foil he'd have been for Van Veen in a front two. He's obviously had a very patchy career, but in his last spell you'd probably say he was effective for 12 of the 18 months? He had his purple patch, then six months of playing beside Sammon, then six months where he done the donkey work for Turnbull, Hastie, Ariyibi etc to get the glory. I think if we sign him and then spend the rest of the month trying to get a taker for Obika, or begging Barnsley to recall Shaw, then that's a dangerous game. If the rest of our team was sorted but we were lacking a striker, I'd happily sign him, but considering it's the other way around, I wouldn't.

Exactly, there has to be demand to get rid of players and it's rare that top of your list to get rid of would be easy to shift. Wilkinson was also guilty of two of my pet hates (wearing shirt number 99 and taking corners despite being 6ft+) so for those reasons I'm glad he's gone

Shaw can only play for us or Barnsley for the rest of the season and I can't see them clamouring to recall him. Obika is a year older and has shown no signs of being over his chronic hamstring issues. Wilkinson has stayed fit for the most part and contributed some vital goals. We had too many strikers, he was shiftable whilst Obika and Shaw weren't, those are the primary reasons he's off for me.